Fulong Beach 福隆海水浴場

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Fulong Beach is my favorite beach in greater Taipei. It is easily accessible by public transportation (TRA Gongliao Station) has beautiful golden sand, a large shallow swimming area, and tons of food options within walking distance. The paid part of the beach features sand sculptures and lifeguards, while the free part of the beach is less clean but there are no annoying lifeguards to whistle at you all the time, making it a foreigners paradise. 

Background:
Fulong Beach lies next to Fulong Village in Gongliao District of New Taipei, at the mouth of the Shuang River. It is special in Taiwan for its rare golden color.
The beach has been a popular swimming destination since the Japanese occupation of Taiwan. In 1959, the TRA created public showers and bridge that goes to the other side of the sandbar that you see today. 
The Fullon hotel resort sits in front of the paid beach and is a popular destination for Taipei residents. 
Taiwan's fourth nuclear reactor lies in the background of the beach, but it has never been operational and likely never will be due to the anti-nuclear power movement in Taiwan. 
Near the beach one can go camping at Longmen campground or biking on the Caoling bicycle loop. 

Price:
Paid Fullon Hotel Beach: 100 NT per person. You can book tickets on Klook here or KKday here.
Public beach next to Dongxing Temple: Free

Hours:
Paid Fullon Hotel Beach: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM (extended to 9 PM on Sat/Sun in summer). You can book tickets on Klook here or KKday here.
Public beach next to Dongxing Temple: 24/7

When to go:
May to October when the weather is nice and the water is warm.
Winter on the northeast coast is cold and windy. 
Fulong sand sculpture season dates: April 19th - August 25th (2019).
You can also book tickets to the international Sand Sculpture Art festival on Klook here or KKday here.

Tours and Activities:
There are many activities available at Fulong such as Windsurfing, SUP /paddle boarding, kayaking, canoeing, sailing, and more on Klook here or KKday here.

Hotels in Fulong:
We recommend Fullon Hotel which has locations in Tamsui and Fulong near the beach (book on Booking.com here, Tripadvisor here, Agoda here, or Hotels.com here). 
We have also stayed at and recommend Hai Xia Your Home which is right in front of Fulong Beach (book on Booking.com here, Tripadvisor here, Agoda here, or Hotels.com here). 
Looking for a hotel? We recommend booking through Booking.com here, which provides the best quality selection of accommodation in Taiwan.
Find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here.

How to get there:
By Train: Take the TRA train to Fulong Station. Walk straight from the station down to the beach! Book tickets via the normal train (TRA)  on Klook here.
By Car/Scooter: Take provincial higway 2 from Qidu in Keelung through the mountains past Shifen and Shuangxi until you reach Gongliao on the coast. The beach is right in front of the train station, and there is free parking in front of Dongxing Temple. 
Looking for scooter rental in Keelung? Search KKday here for options. You can also check out our scooter rental guide here. If you are looking for car rentals, you can also search Qeeq here, Klook here, or  KKday here. You can also check out our car rental guide here.  ​
By Bicycle: Cycling is the best way to enjoy Taiwan's landscapes if you have the time and energy. Looking for bicycle rentals in Taiwan? You can use Taiwan's many Youbike bike sharing stations, or search for rentals on KKday here, and search for tours on Klook here. You can also check out our Taiwan cycling guide here. ​
For more information, check out our Taiwan transportation guide here. 
​
Map:
​Please see below:

Our Journey:

I go to Fulong Beach multiple times every summer, but only via scooter or car. It is my favorite beach in Taipei because it is close, has great sand, shallow water, and no annoying lifeguards on the free side of the beach. The food stalls and restaurants near the beach also are reminiscent of Kenting. One could say that Fulong is the Kenting of northern Taiwan. 

​There are many activities available at Fulong such as Windsurfing, SUP /paddle boarding, kayaking, canoeing, sailing, and more on Klook here or KKday here.

One of the best reasons to come to Fulong instead of other beaches in northern Taiwan is because of the Lunch Boxes (Benot Boxes) sold in front of the train station. 

Here is another bento box from another day. One of these is good enough reason to come to Fulong. 

When you come to Fulong, you have the choice of either going to the free beach on the right (south) or the paid beach on the left (north). 

The paid side of Fulong Beach has sand sculptures during the summer and always has the most people. 

​You can also book tickets to the international Sand Sculpture Art festival on Klook here or KKday here.

Along the road to the paid beach are usually a few food stalls. 

Also you will have to pass next to Fullon Fulong Grand Hotel before you can get to the beach. 

You have to buy a ticket in order to cross the bridge to the paid beach. I have never been over to the paid side of the beach. And why would I? The other side is free, has less people, and no annoying lifeguards. 

The free side of the beach lies in front of Dongxing Temple near the fishing harbor. 

There can also be a lot of people on this side of the beach, but it is a much more relaxed environment. Also you will always find tons of foreigners here. 

You can reach this beach by following the bike path or just walking across the small steam. 

Dongxing Temple was built in1926 and refurbished in 2000. It is a religious center in Fulong. 

Next to the temple are also a few food stalls and food trucks. You can also shower behind the temple the Taiwanese way by bringing your own buck and filling it up with water from the bathroom sinks (a lot of Taiwanese people do this). 

Or you can shower at the food stand next to the temple for 30 NT a person, no hot water available. 

There are plenty of showers here and you won't have to wait too long even during peak hours. 

​There is also a popular restaurant run by foreigners here called "Tiki Republic" nearby that has a bar and often plays loud music. 

There is also free parking next to Dongxing temple, unlike next to Fullon Hotel which is 100-200 NT per day. 

Panorama of the free side of the beach. 

Another panorama of the free side of the beach, giving you a 360 view. 

The beach at the free part of Fulong Beach is not clean, and the water is not very clear. But its acceptable for Taiwan standards.
The best part about this beach is the lack of lifeguards. Normally in Taiwan you will get the whistle for even getting your feet wet. This is because most people in Taiwan can't swim so the lifeguards go crazy.
As a foreigner used to enjoying a peaceful beach and knowing how to swim this can be super annoying. I don't want to get the whistle for being in water up to my knees. This is why the free part of Fulong is the best beach in northern Taiwan. 

I know there are tons of foreigners that come here that drink beer and leave their beer cans and trash on the beach or in the ocean. This is not okay. If you are one of these foreigners, please do the rest of us and the environment a favor and take your trash with you. Also drinking and swimming is dangerous and you could drown. 

View of the mothballed fourth nuclear reactor, which is now a ghost town. 

View of the paid part of the beach. 

Another popular activity on the free side of the beach is surfing and paddle boarding.

You will find many a foreigner here surfing, as well as Taiwanese. I have also seen surfing classes take place here. 

There is also plenty of sand here as well as a giant sand dune near Dongxing Temple. 

Windsurfing and kayaking are also popular activities here. 

Swarms of people going to see the sand sculptures. 

The majority of people that go to the paid sand sculpture part of the beach are Taiwanese. This part of the beach is fitting for them because many of them can't swim and wear long pants and long sleeves to the beach, planning only to get their toes wet anyway. 

More sand sculptures. 

Another view of the bridge. 

More people and sand sculptures. 

You can also book tickets to the international Sand Sculpture Art festival on Klook here or KKday here.

Wind surfer. 

​There are many activities available at Fulong such as Windsurfing, SUP /paddle boarding, kayaking, canoeing, sailing, and more on Klook here or KKday here.

You can see more of our photos from other trips to Fulong in the gallery above.

Sunset over Fulong Beach. 

Rainbow over Dongxing Temple.
​There is also a truck that sells onion pancakes here as well as a few seafood restaurants. 

There are plentiful foot washes and showers next to the Fullon Hotel.

After a long hot day at the beach, a bowl of ice hits the spot. 

Here's some taro ice that we had. 

Banana ice. 

Sweet bean and boba ice. 

Mongo and ice cream ice. 

Also there are some good places to eat here, like this Malaysian chicken location. 

Also if you have time there are tons of bike rental places here, and tons of bike paths around Fulong. 

Caoling - Fulong Bicycle Loop 草嶺-福隆環狀線

The Fulong-Coaling-Sandiao Cape- bike route is one of the most biker-friendly routes in Taiwan, the roughly 2 hour loop is something that the whole family can enjoy. It includes a 2KM ride through the Old Coaling Railroad Tunnel, as well as a ride along the Sandiao Cape coast on an enclosed bike path, where one can enjoy great views of the ocean, Turtle Island, wavy geological features on the coastline, and historical stone villages along the way. This bike route is highly recommended for people of all ages...(read more)

You can book a tour to the Caoling Tunnel on KKday here. 

​Check out our full blog on the Fulong-Coaling-Sandiao Cape- bike route here. ​

​There are many activities available here at Fulong such as Windsurfing, SUP /paddle boarding, kayaking, canoeing, sailing, and more on Klook here or KKday here.

You can also book tickets to the international Sand Sculpture Art festival on Klook here or KKday here.
​
Check out our guide to the best beaches near Taipei here. 

​Check out our full guide to Taiwan’s Northern Coast here. 

Also be sure to check out our guide to Taipei here. 

You can also check out our full travel guide to Taiwan here. 

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